


it's the most wonderful time of the year

by tmwshj



Category: Cravity (Band)
Genre: Crush at First Sight, Drabble, Hot Chocolate, Love at First Sight, M/M, Meet-Cute, a work of FICTION this does not happen in real life i am so sorry, i wish it did though, it's christmas assholes, mentions of minisong and sellen, merry christmas from gongtang and me, then maybe i would have a chance of finding my s/o, tis the season to fall in love at first sight and be in crippling student debt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:15:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28315875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmwshj/pseuds/tmwshj
Summary: 'tis the season to be jolly or whatever, but seongmin's heard that song enough times to be able to sing it at a school recital. unfortunately, what can a man do when the part-time job at forever 21 pays so well during the holidays?so seongmin sucks it up, fighting his way through another of mariah carey's christmas hits and another stack of ugly christmas sweaters.but then he meets the cashier working at the seven-eleven across the street.suddenly christmas may not be so bad after all.
Relationships: Ahn Seongmin/Kim Taeyoung, Allen Ma/Park Serim
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	it's the most wonderful time of the year

**Author's Note:**

> look i wasn't gonna write a christmas fic just because i was NOT feeling it this year (cmon, we're in the middle of a pandemic) but then i woke up this morning to lots of "merry christmas"es and "thank you"s and i dunno, i got really emotional and happy so i decided, eh, why not.
> 
> this fic is super rushed (literally started writing it after cravity's sbs gayo stage oops) so hhaha... ignore the plot holes <3 (pretend that seongmin isn't from seoul thank u)
> 
> inspired by [this tweet by cler](https://twitter.com/deovity/status/1328098764129669121?s=20) YES I DIDN'T FORGET
> 
> enjoy!

things can be going a whole lot better. 

being buried under crippling student debt, seongmin would much rather be snuggled up back at home under mountains of blankets while watching ‘home alone’ for the fifth time that week than working part-time in forever 21. and of course, he had to be working  _ retail _ , where shops would be flooded with shoppers attempting to find last-minute gifts for forgotten members of the family.

things were chaotic, and mariah carey and ariana grande on loop were  _ not  _ helping his impending headache. seriously, who controlled these things? and why do they have such bad music taste?

as the jingle of bells in ‘all i want for christmas is you’s intro starts up again, seongmin gets called to the backroom by his co-worker to restock the shelves with some (hideous) merchandise. 

allen, a kind but otherwise overworked med student, dumps a stack of ugly christmas sweaters into his arms. they smelled like lint and had red, green, and white pom-poms dangling over them in an unfashionable manner. at the back, the phrase  _ ‘tis the season to be depressed _ was embroidered across it in a cheap gold string along with a bright-red santa hat with a bell attached. it was both obnoxious and corny, and it blows seongmin’s mind that people would actually spend twenty dollars on it.

despite the glaring shades of reds and greens, seongmin didn’t feel the christmas spirit this year. it’s been two years since he moved out of his parent’s place, two years since he’s received a tangible present, two years since he felt the need to celebrate the occasion. (his parents have been giving him money as a gift though, bless their souls – unfortunately, any money that he receives immediately goes towards his school fees.)

two years was a short time, but enough to kill his love for the holiday. it sucked to be stuck in a crowded store every year, but what can seongmin do about it? he sighs, stacking up the sweaters on the shelf before making his way behind the cashier to ring up some impatient middle-aged ladies. 'tis the season to be jolly, alright.

allen emerges from the backroom slightly later. “you should go have your dinner before your next shift. you’re covering for minhee, right?”

seongmin nods, forcing a smile. he shouldn’t complain, not when minhee practically begged him to cover for him so he could spend some quality time with hyeongjun, his long-time boyfriend. (no seongmin isn't jealous, pfff, _no_.)

seongmin decides not to go far, the cold winter making it difficult to even cross the street. he opts to have a something simple and cheap at the seven-eleven across the street. the store wasn’t much warmer than the streets of seoul, but it was an improvement nonetheless. his teeth stopped chattering as he waits for his noodles to boil and the instant coffee powder to dissolve, staring out into the bustling streets. there were people everywhere, smiles plastered on their faces as they enjoyed the holiday season. 

“what are you smiling at?”

seongmin whips his head in the direction of the voice, looking startled.

the cashier smiles, rubbing his neck apologetically. “sorry if i scared you, just wanted to talk a little.” the cashier sighs, adjusting his neon green work vest. “it _is_ the holidays after all.”

seongmin grins, “it’s fine. just wishing i could be spending my holidays like them, that’s all.” he gestures at the families and couples walking up and down the shopping street.

“hey, me too, but guess we’re stuck here, huh?”

seongmin laughs. “right. what’s your name?”

“taeyoung. you?”

“seongmin.”

“i assume you’re working?”

“yeah, at the forever 21 across the street.”

“yikes, shit’s tough.”

“i know right?” seongmin chuckles. “but they pay well during the holidays.” he says, taking a sip of hot coffee.

taeyoung leaves the cashier, walking over to seongmin and gesturing at the seat next to him. “may i?”

between mouthfuls of ramen, seongmin mumbles a ‘yes’.

the two boys sit side by side, staring out at the street – seongmin having his dinner while taeyoung takes small sips of the hot chocolate he grabbed off the shelves.

“why did you decide to work?” taeyoung asks off-handedly. “christmas is a time to be with family after all.”

“ah… i don’t really live around here, i’m from two cities away.” seongmin chuckles. “i’m just studying here, and i kinda need to pay off my student loans.”

“oh, sorry if answering that made you uncomfortable.”

“it’s fine. what about you?”

“the same. studying in seoul turned out to be more expensive than i thought.”

“that’s our harsh reality." seongmin sighs, leaning back into the stainless steel bar stool. "where are you studying at?”

“seoul national. architecture.”

seongmin’s eyes widen, choking on his noodles. taeyoung gasps and runs to grab some napkins from the backroom.

after seongmin finishes his coughing fit, he replies enthusiastically, “same! i’m studying chemistry. what a small world, huh?”

taeyoung laughs, “indeed.”

“hey, wanna see some ugly christmas sweaters?”

“hit me.”

seongmin pulls out his phone, fingers slightly numb from the cold. he starts scrolling through the many photos he had sent to minhee of ugly christmas-themed apparel he had seen over the past month – and it’s  _ bad _ . red and green weren’t the best colour schemes to start with, and the designers of fast fashion had somehow managed to fuck it up even more.

there was this green knitted sweater with a picture of santa on the front and the phrase “hoe hoe hoe” plastered in big white letters across the back. and then there was this bright red graphic sweater which did nothing except make you look like a traffic light and embarrass you as the text proudly said “i have a big present for you,  _ smirking emoji _ ”. and seongmin’s personal favourite (or least favourite, he didn’t know which words were suitable at that point), a red and green sweater vest with a large hole in the middle, seemingly designed to look like rudolph’s nose, apparently for the user to bare their belly for the world to see. they all looked like drunk purchases, but that’s the holiday spirit,  _ isn’t it _ ?

in exchange, taeyoung shares stories of working in a convenience store during the holiday season – seeing all sorts of drunks tumbling into the store after holiday dinners and get-togethers, heart-broken men and women moping around after being rejected under the mistletoe, tired students who were spending their holidays catching up on late assignments. the list goes on, and they’re mostly negative. wasn’t christmas suppose to be more… what's the word… happy? ah, where did it all go wrong?

the sun slowly starts to disappear behind the tall skyscrapers, and seongmin realises that’s his cue to start heading back to the cursed retail store.

“i gotta go now, my next shift’s starting.”

“and my shift’s just ended. what great timing.” taeyoung chuckles apologetically, removing the tacky green vest. “i’ll walk you there, i’m heading in the same direction anyways… i can, right?”

seongmin chuckles. “yeah, sure.”

they leave the store together, taeyoung bidding goodbye to the person taking the next shift.

just as they step foot out of the tiny convenience store, the golden light decorations started to flicker on one by one, small dots of luminance brightening up the busy streets of seoul ever so gently. seongmin looks up, watching white pearls of snow slowly descending from the violet sky.

“it’s snowing!” seongmin says to no one in particular, reaching out his palm for a snowflake to land in. 

the streets of seoul seemed to come to a standstill – people in puffy winter coats stopping in their tracks to catch a glimpse of the first snow that winter. strange that it came so late this year, but better late than never, seongmin figures. the boy takes a deep breath, relishing in the cool winter breeze that came with the first snow. for that moment, everything felt right. christmas was actually here!

unfortunately, the streets of seoul start right back up again, and seongmin is snapped out of his reverie. he sighs. 

“it’s beautiful, isn’t it?” taeyoung asks from beside him. seongmin looks over at the taller boy, clad in a white padded coat, looking upwards. seongmin follows his gaze, realising that taeyoung was looking at the golden light décor.

it was beautiful – the lights seemed to shimmer in every angle and rows of tinsel dangled from the display, getting tickled by the gentle winter breeze. cars of all shapes and sizes drove by underneath, not bothering to spare a glance at the display, and honestly, seongmin would have overlooked it too,  if not for taeyoung.

the taller boy seemed entranced by the decorations, looking dreamily at them. “the designer did a brilliant job, didn’t they?” taeyoung muses. “you know, if i didn’t study architecture, i don’t think i would have been able to ever appreciate the small things in life.”

seongmin doesn’t respond, a little unsure how to. he gives a small smile.

“ah, sorry. you’re gonna be late.” taeyoung scratches his head. he looks over at the traffic light. “it’s green! quickly!”

the taller boy grabs seongmin by the hem of his coat, pulling the smaller boy along. seongmin’s pleasantly surprised, running after him and squeezing through the crowd as mirthful laughter pour out of their bodies.

they stand outside forever 21, yellow signboard as glaring as ever, while they caught their breath, still feeling the thrill of the holidays. seongmin realises that maybe this was the christmas spirit he had always been missing – going out and having actual  _ fun  _ instead of working his ass off at temporary part-time gigs. 

there wasn’t anything special about his dinner – just instant noodles and coffee from the seven-eleven across the street. he looks over at taeyoung, bangs covering his eyes.

the dinner wasn’t special,  _ but the company was _ . he hasn’t felt this at home ever since he moved out two years ago. he hasn’t felt this holiday joy for a long time, and he missed it dearly.

“hey… do you want to exchange numbers?” seongmin asks, taking out his phone.

taeyoung looks down at seongmin, quirking an eyebrow.

“for me to send you more pictures of ugly sweaters!” seongmin chuckles nervously, “i have an entire album full of them!”

taeyoung giggles, seeing through seongmin’s lie. “sure.”

he quickly types in his number, returning seongmin’s phone.

“t-thanks for the company. i really appreciate it. made my christmas a little less sucky, you know?” seongmin mumbles, fiddling with his phone, not daring to look taeyoung in the eye.

“you’re welcome.” taeyoung replies, his voice sincere. “ah… enjoy the rest of your shift! or try to at least. i’ll be looking forward to those ugly sweaters!”

seongmin laughs. “of course. i’ll even dig through last year’s designs!”

taeyoung waves goodbye, a dimple appearing on his cheeks as he smiles. seongmin feels his heart flutter.

“had a good dinner?” allen asks as seongmin re-enters the store, running to the back room.

“a feast.” seongmin says, playfulness evident in his voice. “you?”

“serim was there.”

“so a great dinner as well?”

“shut up.”

“okay lover boy.” seongmin teases.

he checks his phone while slipping on the employee’s lanyard, his cheeks flushing a bright red.

taeyoung’s contact was saved in his phone, along with a simple message that taeyoung had sent to himself in his messages.

_ [kim taeyoung]: if you’re free after your shift, we could catch a movie? i heard they’re showing a replay of the grinch :-) _

seongmin hugs his phone to his chest, biting his lip as he tries to stop himself from smiling.

“it’s the most wonderful time of the year.” seongmin has always disagreed with the phrase – what’s to like about the cold and overpriced trees? but this year was different. as he looks out of the floor-to-ceiling store windows out into the street, he notices the pretty light display for the first time. his mind wanders to a certain boy in a white, padded coat. maybe it’s about time he gives christmas a chance and allow himself to find joy in the spirit of giving and christmas cheer  and maybe, a chance to kiss someone under the mistletoe.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! please don't mind the plot holes, it's for, um, the characters to breathe, yknow?
> 
> merry christmas and happy holidays! :-)
> 
> twt - [shjIuvr](https://twitter.com/shjIuvr)


End file.
